The Computer and Information Systems Department provides campus-wide IT services to the entire Singapore Polytechnic population, comprising 1,500 staff and 16,000 students. The department strives to provide an integrated digital environment for our stakeholders to facilitate their accessibility to and use of information and e-services for effective decision-making and relationship building at work and in life. Pivotal to the department's efforts is the Knowledge Management framework - SPIKE, the acronym for Singapore Polytechnic Information and Knowledge Eco-System.
Through SPIKE, the polytechnic offers a wide spectrum of integrated information and computing services. SPIKE develops its information and knowledge services on the extensive campus-wide high-speed Gigabit Ethernet network and IEEE 802.11b compliant Wireless LAN. Some of the student services offered by the polytechnic are as follows:
- E-mail
- eSP - an e-learning service
- File and Print
- Information Kiosk
- Internet
- Student Web Hosting
- Student Administration
- CAD/CAM Applications
- Workflow Applications e.g. student surveys
All students are issued accounts to access the above services, visit the digital Library electronically and surf the Internet from any computer connected to the SPIKE network.
The Department of Computer and Information Systems manages a total of seven Computer Resource Centres (CRC) - CRC 3, CRC 3A, CRC 4, CRC 12, CRC 14, CRC 16 and CRC 22. They are equipped with 1,800 high-performance computing systems, comprising multimedia Pentium PCs, Silicon Graphics Workstations, Hewlett Packard Visualize Personal Workstations and IBM Z-Pro IntelliStations. The CRCs are also installed with high-speed, high-quality colour as well as black and white laser printers.
Besides the CRCs, the department also manages other computer resources such as the extended Free Access Centre (eFAC), a dedicated computer facility, which provides students extended hours of free access. The eFAC operates beyond the normal lab operating hours and is open on weekday nights, weekends and public holidays as well.
